Display stand



Patented Nov. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPLAY STAND Leon H. Best, Galva, Ill., assigner to John I-I. Best & Sons, Inc., Galva, Ill., a corporation of Illi- 'I'his invention relates to display racks for holding a number of carpet or rug samples and the like so that the individual samples can be quickly nois Application October 20, 1937, Serial No. 169,963

4 Claims.

and easily shown to a customer.

In displaying sheet samples it has been customary to stack them one upon the other in piles on the floor or on stands, or suspend them from suitable racks supported on the Walls of the display room.. When the sheet samples are placed in pilesan untidy pile results as the salesman removes the various sheets from the pile and replaces them during the course of the business day. When sheet samples are suspended from wall racks it is difficult for many customers to l I visualize the appearance of the sample in the manner in which a customer desires to use the product. This is especially true of carpets, rugs and other floor coverings. It is, therefore, highly desirable to display the samples in such a manner that the customer can obtain a substantially accurate impression of how the rug or carpet will appear on the floor in his home or business establishment.

The most satisfactory method of making such a display is by the use of display stands which securely hold the samples in substantially horizontal position close to the floor. Various devices have been used whereby the samples are secured to the stand so that the topmost samples may be ,thrown back to disclose the view of the samples which the salesman intends to display to the customer.

For various reasons such as for obtaining different light conditions it vmay be desirable to remove the particular sample from the middle of the pile and take it to a different part of the display room. The salesman desires to eiect such a removal with as little confusion as possible and with the clamping devices heretofore used fon display stands this has been diicult, if not impossible.

It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to store samples on a display rack in such ua manner that they may be readily removed therefrom without confusion and general disarrangement of the remaining samples.

It is another object to eifect such a removal in as short a time as possible so that the customers attention does not have a chance to be diverted.

able to the salesman for display purposes for a prolonged period.

A still further object of the invention is to providela display rack which is operable in a quick and efficient manner to secure samples of sheet A5 material such as rugs, carpets and the like secured thereon by clamping means which are substantially concealed from the view of the custorner, whereby his attention to the samples being displayed is not diverted by the clamping 10 apparatus.

In the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated,

Fig. 1 is a perspetcive view of the display rack showing a plurality of samples clamped thereon l5:

for display;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line lI-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, the bed 5 is supported in a slightly angular relation to the oor by means of relatively short legs 6 at the front there- 25 of and by relatively long legs 'I at the rear. The rear legs I are secured by means of a set screw 1 in the throat 8 of the clamping bracket 9. The clamping bracket is provided with a pair of oppositely disposed flanges I0, II which are se- 30 cured to the rail I2 of the frame of the stand by means of screws I3. The bracket 9 is provided with a clamp chamber I4 which extends from the rear to the front thereof and is open at the rear. An opening I5 is provided at the top of the cham- 35 ber and another opening I6 provided at the bottom of the chamber. The opening II is in alignment with the throat 8 and the opening I5 is in. alignment with the opening I6. Another opening I'I is provided through the portion of the bed 40 which extends beyond the rail and is in alignment with the openings I5 and I'B and the throat 8.

A clamping rod I8 is insertable through the openings I'I, I5 and I6 and extends into the hol- 45 low leg 1. The rod I8 is provided with a suitable operating knob I9 at its top.

A clamping lever 20 extends into the chamber I4 with its inner end engaged in a recess 2| provided at the rear of thechamber. An opening 22 is arranged through the leversubstantially at on a radius substantially equal to the distance of the opening 22 to the recess 2|. A coil spring 24 is arranged about the pin 23 below the lever 20 to normally urge the outer end of the lever upwardly about the inner end of the lever which is fulcrumed in the recess 2l. The lever is also provided with an opening 25 between the opening 22 and the inner end thereof. The opening 25 is slightly larger than the diameter of the rod I8 which is adapted to extend therethrough.

A clamping bar 26 is adapted to be arranged across the top of a pile of samples of rugs, carpets or the like 21 and is provided with openings at the ends thereof to receive the clamping rods I8 arranged on opposite sides of the display stand.

In using my invention a pile of rugs 21 is first placed upon the bed 5 and the clamping bar 26 is arranged in place across one end thereof, whereupon the clamping rods I8 are inserted through the openings at the ends of the clamping bar and through the openings I1, I5, 25, I6 and into the hollow legs 1 in succession. In passing through the openings 25 the rod I8 pushes the lever 20 downwardly against the action of the spring 24 which normally urges the outer end of the lever 20 upwardly. The knobs I9 are pressed downwardly by the operator to securely clamp the samples in place. The rod I8 is held in this pushed downwardly position by the frictional engagement of the one side of the opening 25 against the rod I8 by reason of the lever being pushed upwardly by the spring 24 to dispose the lever angularly with respect to the rod I8.

While I have shown and described my invention in a selected embodiment I wish it to be understood that I reserve the right to make all such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts thereof as may fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

l. In a display stand having a bed adapted to receive samples of rugs, carpets, and the like to beV displayed, a clamping bracket secured in fixed relation with said bed, a clamping bar arranged across the samples to be displayed on said bed, a clamping rod engageable withsaid bar, a lever pivotally mounted in said bracket and extending therefrom beyond an edge of said bed, said bar, bracket, and lever having aligned openings therethrough to receive said rod, and operating means adapted to frictionally engage said lever with the rd to lock the rod in the aligned openings and selectively operable to release the rod.

2l In a display stand having a frame, a bed mounted on the frame and extending beyond the sides thereof and adapted to receive samples of rugs, carpets, and the like to be displayed, a clamping bracket Secured to said frame beneath said bed and arranged between the frameand an edge of the bed, a clamping bar arranged across the samples to be displayed on said bed, a clamping rod engageable with said bar, a lever pivotally mounted in said bracket, said bar, bracket, and lever having aligned openings therethrough to receive said rod, and a hollow leg for said stand secured at its top in said bracket in substantial alignment with the aligned openings and adapted to receive the end of the rod extend- Ing through said aligned openings, said lever being operable to selectively secure the rod in the aligned openings and in the hollow leg.

3. In a display stand having a bed adapted to receive samples of rugs, carpets, and the like to be displayed, a rail secured to said bed therebeneath and arranged inwardly from the side of said bed, a clamping bracket secured to said rail and arranged between the rail and the side of the bed, said bed having an opening therethrough above said bracket, said bracket having a chamber therein open at the rear and having aligned openings at the top and bottom aligned with the opening in the bed and communicating with said chamber, the front wall of the bracket having a recess therein on the chamber side, a clamping lever fulcrumed at one end in said recess and extending outwardly through the opening at the rear of the chamber, said lever having an opening therethrough in substantial alignment with said aligned openings and another opening therethrough between said firstnamed lever opening and the free end of the said lever, a pin traversing said chamber and secured at its ends in the top and bottom respectively of the bracket and extending through said other opening in the lever, whereby the lever is held in operable position in the chamber, spring means arranged about the pin between the lever and bottom of the chamber and normally urging said lever upwardly, a hollow leg for said stand secured at its top in said bracket in substantial alignment with the aligned openings, a clamping rod extending through the aligned openings and into said leg, said rod having an operating knob at its outer end, and a clamping bar arranged across an end of the sample to be displayed on said bed and having an end thereof arranged beneath said knob for engagement by the knob whereby pressure exerted thereon will automatically clamp the lever upon the rod by action of the spring means upon the lever to secure the samples upon the bed and whereby selective operation of the lever about its fulcrum releases the rod from the lever to permit withdrawal of the rod to release the samples,

4. In a display stand having a bed adapted to receive samples of rugs, carpets; and the like to be displayed, a rail secured to said bed therebeneath and arranged inwardly from the side of said bed, a clamping bracket secured to said rail and arranged between the rail and the side of the bed, said bed having an opening therethrough above said bracket, said bracket having a chamber therein open at the rear and having aligned openings at the top and bottom aligned with the opening in the bed and communicating with said chamber, the front wall of the bracket having a recess therein on the chamber side, a clamping lever fulcrumed at one end in said recess and extending outwardly through the opening at the rear of the chamber, a clamping rod extending through the aligned openings, and a clamping bar arrangedacross an end of the samples to be displayed o'n said bed and engageable by said rod whereby said rod is selectively engageable by said lever to secure said bar in clamping relation with said samples.

LEON H. BEST. 

